Document management system

ABSTRACT

A document management system creates a copy of a first purchase document when a request to modify the first purchase document is received. The copy of the first purchase document is a second purchase document. The system receives modifications for the second purchase document. The system requests approval of the modifications of the second purchase document. The system receives approval of the modifications of the second purchase document. The system integrates the modifications of the second purchase document into the first purchase document. The first purchase document remains active at least after the second purchase document is created and before the receiving approval.

FIELD

One embodiment is directed to a computer system for managing documents,and more particularly, to a computer system for managing purchasedocuments.

BACKGROUND

Generally, there can be many types of purchasing documents thatbusinesses (purchasers) can use to transact with their respectivevendors (suppliers). For example, a standard purchase order includes aspecific product the purchaser desires and a delivery date of thespecific product desired by the purchaser. Another type of purchasingdocument, a blanket agreement, may be a long term contract thatindicates a particular product, a negotiated price for the particularproduct, and a particular duration for how long the product may besupplied to the purchaser. However, in the blanket agreement thepurchaser may not indicate a delivery date of the product, because thepurchaser may be unsure about when the product would be needed. Withanother type of document, a contract purchase agreement (e.g., a“specific” agreement), the purchaser does not know what product isneeded, but simply indicates that a product is needed in, for example,the next year.

Once a purchase document is created and the supplier approves of thepurchase document, the purchase document may be executed. For example,execution of a purchase agreement (i.e., a type of purchase document)occurs when a requester needs to create a requisition for a productspecified in the purchase agreement. Execution of a purchase order(i.e., another type of purchase document) occurs when, for example, aproduct is received and the purchase order is used to validate againstthe invoice to pay the supplier. However, there may be instances wherethe purchaser and/or supplier wants to modify the purchase document(i.e., purchase agreement or purchase order). A reason to modifyincludes, for example, delivery date issues, change in product need,etc. Once the purchase document is modified, the modified purchasedocument requires re-approval by different parties associated with thepurchase document. Upon approval of the modified purchase document, thepurchase document can be executed again.

SUMMARY

One embodiment is a document management system. The system receives arequest to modify a first purchase agreement. The system creates a copyof a first purchase document when a request to modify the first purchasedocument is received. The copy of the first purchase document is asecond purchase document. The system receives modifications for thesecond purchase document. The system requests approval of themodifications of the second purchase document. The system receivesapproval of the modifications of the second purchase document. Thesystem integrates the modifications of the second purchase document intothe first purchase document. The first purchase document remains activeat least after the second purchase document is created and before thereceiving approval.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order for the embodiments of the invention to be readily understood,a more particular description of the invention briefly described abovewill be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that areillustrated in the appended drawings. While it should be understood thatthese drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the invention andare not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, theinvention will be described and explained with additional specificityand detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a document management system that can beimplemented in one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is prior art of a flow diagram of a contract management system.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a document manager in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a manage orders user interface in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention that allows a user to view purchase orderand initiate a change order form against the purchase order.

FIG. 5 illustrates a view order user interface in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention that allows the user view the purchase orderselected from the user interface of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates a change order user interface in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention that allows a user to make proposed changes.

FIG. 7 illustrates a review change order user interface in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention to enable a user to view allattributes that are being modified as part of a change order, as well astheir original and new values.

FIG. 8 illustrates a manage agreements user interface in accordance withone embodiment of the invention that allows a user to search and viewpurchase agreements.

FIG. 9 illustrates a purchase agreement user interfaces in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention that allows the user to view thepurchase agreement selected from user interface of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One embodiment is a document management system that modifies purchasedocuments. The document management system creates a copy of the purchasedocument while maintaining the purchase document in an active state. Theactive state allows the original purchase document to be executed at anypoint while modifications are made to the copy of the purchase documentand while awaiting for approval of the modified purchase document. Theactive state allows the original purchase document to be comparedagainst invoices of the supplier or allows the purchase document to beused for other accounting related purposes while awaiting changeapproval.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a document management system 10 that can beimplemented in one embodiment of the invention. System 10 may include abus 12 or other communication mechanism that can communicate informationand a processor 22, coupled to bus 12, that can process information.Processor 22 can be any type of general or specific purpose processor.System 10 may also include a memory 14 that can store information andinstructions to be executed by processor 22. Memory 14 can be comprisedof any combination of random access memory (“RAM”), read only memory(“ROM”), static storage such as a magnetic or optical disk, or any othertype of computer readable media. System 10 may also include acommunication device 20, such as a network interface card, that mayprovide access to a network. As a result, a user may interface withsystem 10 directly, or remotely through a network or any other method.

Computer readable media may be any available media that can be accessedby processor 22. Computer readable media may include both volatile andnonvolatile medium, removable and non-removable media, and communicationmedia. Communication media may include computer readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and mayinclude any information delivery media.

Processor 22 can also be coupled via bus 12 to a display 24, such as aLiquid Crystal Display (“LCD”). Display 24 may display information tothe user, such as purchaser agreement information. A keyboard 26 and acursor control unit 28, such as a computer mouse, may also be coupled tobus 12 to enable the user to interface with system 10.

According to one embodiment, memory 14 may store software modules thatmay provide functionality when executed by processor 22. The modules caninclude an operating system 15, a document manager 16, as well as otherfunctional modules 18. System 15 may provide an operating systemfunctionality for system 10. Document manager 16 may create a changeorder request (e.g., a request for change) for approval, as described inmore detail below. Because system 10 may be part of a larger system,system 10 may include one or more additional functional modules 18 toinclude the additional functionally. For example, functional modules 18may include financial/accounting modules that are part of Oracle FusionPurchasing.

FIG. 2 is a prior art flow diagram of a typical document modificationsystem. Generally, once a purchaser and supplier agree to contents ofthe purchase document, the purchase document becomes an active documentor has an active status at 202. The active document or active statusindicates that the purchase document is ready for execution. Forexample, the active status indicates that the purchase document isavailable to validate any invoice received from the supplier.

As discussed above, there may be many reasons why a purchaser, supplier,or any other entity connected to the purchase document may want tochange the contents of the purchase document. In those instances, a useraccesses the purchase document in order to make the changes to thepurchase document at 204. For example, the user accesses the purchasedocument by performing a search for the purchase document in a database.Once the purchase document is found, the purchase document is selectedand the contents of the purchase document is viewed.

The purchase document can be modified at 206 by making changes to, forexample, price, product type, quantity of product, vendor information,buyer information, delivery address, etc. Once modifications arecomplete, the purchase document, as modified, is submitted for approvalby the relevant entities. However, the modified purchase document is nolonger be available for execution, because the status of the purchasedocument is changed from active to a re-approval status (e.g., requiresre-approval) at 208. The re-approval status indicates that the purchasedocument was modified by an entity (e.g., purchasing organization and/orsupplying organization). Furthermore, the re-approval status alsoindicates that the modified purchase document may not be executed untilthe modified purchase document is approved.

Because the purchase document has been modified at 206, re-approval ofthe purchase document is required by a party of the purchasingorganization (e.g., purchaser) and/or a party of the supplyingorganization (e.g., supplier). For example, the purchaser and seller arerequested to approve the modified purchase document at 210. The timeperiod for re-approval of the modified purchase document can be days ormonths. For example, in cases where the terms and conditions of thepurchase document are requested to be modified, the time period may bedays or months, because approval of such sections of the purchasedocument may need additional parties to be involved for review. This maybe inefficient and may cause disruption in execution of the purchasedocument. For example, because the modified purchase document is thesame document as the original purchase document, the edited purchasedocument cannot be processed (e.g., executed) until the modifiedpurchase document is approved by, for example, the supplier. In otherwords, because the contents of the original purchase document wasreplaced with modifications, the purchase document, as modified, cannotbe used for execution until the modified purchase document is approvedby respective parties.

For example, when a purchase agreement is modified, the purchaseagreement cannot be executed. In other words, a purchase order cannot becreated when the purchase agreement is modified, because the creation ofthe purchase order is based on terms and conditions of the purchaseagreement. For example, a requisition (e.g., a request) cannot becreated because a blanket purchase agreement is being modified. Therequisition of a product cannot be made because the requestor (e.g., aparty of the purchaser) is unable to search the database for the blanketpurchase agreement. The requestor is unable to search the database forthe blanket purchase agreement because the blanket purchase agreement isnot visible to the requester, as the blanket purchase agreement is beingmodified. This may cause the requester in buying a product from adifferent supplier with whom a price may not be negotiated for theproduct. This results in the product to be more expensive, because thepurchase agreement was not visible to the requester due to modificationsto the purchase agreement.

When, for example, a purchase order is modified, execution of thepurchase order can be disrupted. For example, if the purchase order ismodified, a party of the purchasing organization cannot receive theproduct. In other words, when the requestor and/or receiver of thepurchasing organization, who receives the product, goes to the system,the requestor will not be able to access and/or view the purchase orderbecause the purchase order is being modified. This may cause, forexample, the receiver to return the product or call the requestorregarding the product, thereby causing delays in the execution of thepurchase order.

Also, there are instances when the purchase order indicates that theproduct is to be delivered at location A and an invoice is to be sent tolocation B. When for example, the purchase order is modified, executionof the purchase order can be disrupted. For example, when an accountingdepartment of the purchasing organization attempts to validate theinvoice against the purchase order, the validation will fail, becausethe purchase order that is modified will not appear in the database, asthe purchase order is set to the re-approval status.

Once the user approves the modified purchase document at 212, themodified purchase document is transmitted to the supplier for acceptanceof the modified purchase document. The supplier accepts the modifiedpurchase document at 214 and transmits the modified purchase documentback to the contract management system. The status of the purchasedocument is changed from the re-approval status to active status(revised active document) at 216, thereby finally making the purchasedocument available for execution. Such a system is highly inefficientbecause there can be lengthy delays in the execution of the purchasedocument.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of document manager 16 in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention. In one embodiment, the functionality of theflow diagram of FIG. 3 is implemented by software stored in memory orother computer readable or tangible media, and executed by a processor.In other embodiments, the functionality may be performed by hardware(e.g., through the use of an application specific integrated circuit(“ASIC”), a programmable gate array (“PGA”), a field programmable gatearray (“FPGA”), etc.), or any combination of hardware or software.

Initially, a purchaser submits a purchase document to document manager16 so the purchase document may be approved by the supplier. Whendocument manager 16 receives an approval of the purchase document fromthe supplier, the status of the purchase document may be indicated asactive at 302 and available for execution.

However, there may be many reasons for a requestor of a purchasingorganization or a party of a supplying organization (e.g., supplier),for example, to modify the purchase document. For example, a purchaseorder (e.g., a type of purchase document) can be modified for at leastone of the following: the requestor wants to add, remove, or modify anitem in the purchase order, or the supplier wants to change a deliverydate of the purchase order, because the supplier cannot deliver the itemon the delivery date.

A purchase agreement (e.g., a type of purchase document) can, forexample, be modified, because of at least one of the following reasons:the purchasing organization wants to modify contract terms andconditions on an agreement to mitigate risk that may be caused becauseof new governmental laws and/or regulations, supplier wants to add morelines on the purchase agreement so that they can supply a product to thepurchasing organization, and supplying organization wants to increasethe price of goods and/or services on the purchase agreement because ofinflation.

When document manager 16 receives a request to access the purchasedocument from the purchaser at 304 in order for the purchaser to make achange to the purchase document, document manager 16 provides thepurchaser the option to perform a search in a database for the purchasedocument. Document manager 16 receives criteria from the purchaser inorder to perform the search. Document manager 16 produces searchresults. The search results provide a list of relevant purchasedocument. Document manager 16 receives a selection from the purchaser asto which purchase document is to be edited/modified. Document manager 16creates a “change order” at 306 by importing contents of the purchasedocument to be modified into the change order. For example, the changeorder is an object that inherits data, attributes, entities from thepurchase document on which the change order is created. The processcopies data from the purchase document to create the change order. Thechange order is used to provide new values for attributes, such asprice, item description, etc.

The change order allows the purchaser to make any changes to thepurchase document, while keeping the original purchase documentunchanged until changes in the change order are approved. Documentmanager 16 maintains the status of the purchase document as active at308, because the purchase document (itself) cannot be modified directlyafter the initial version of the purchase document is approvedinternally and accepted by the supplier. Instead, the change order(i.e., a copy of the purchase document) is modified by the purchaser.This prevents the integrity of the purchase document from beingcompromised. For example, the original purchase document can bevalidated against products and invoice received from the supplier whilewaiting for approval.

Furthermore, because document manager 16 keeps the purchase document asactive, the purchase document can be executed. For example, the purchasedocument can be used to track and receive products as well as matchinvoices from the supplier against the purchase document. Stated anotherway, document manager 16 may maintain the same copy of the purchasedocument until the changes made in the change order form are approvedand, once approved, the changes are integrated (e.g., implemented) intothe purchase document. This results in the purchase document to beavailable for execution at any time during pendency of the approval ofthe change order form (e.g., modified purchase document).

Changes in the change order form can be received by document manager 16.However, document manager 16 can require the change order form to beapproved at 310. For example, document manager 16 requests a manager ofthe requestor of the purchasing organization (e.g., purchaser) toapprove the changes in the change order form. As discussed above, thestatus of the purchase document continues to be active, because thepurchase document has not have been modified. As a result, the purchasedocument remains available for execution (i.e., permitstracking/receiving product and/or matching invoice from supplier).

When document manager 16 receives approval at 312 from the purchaser(e.g., the manager of the requestor of the purchasing organization),document manager 16 transmits a request to the supplier for acceptanceof the change order form. When the supplier accepts the changesrequested as part of the change order at 314, the supplier transmits theacceptance to document manager 16. Document manager 16 integrates (e.g.,implements) at 316 the approved/accepted changes in the change orderform into the purchase document that is currently executed. In oneembodiment, document manager 16 replaces the contents of the purchasedocument with the approved changes in the change order form. In anotherembodiment, document manager 16 replaces the original purchase documentwith the approved changed order form. This will result in the reviseddocument continuing to be active in accordance with one embodiment. Inone embodiment, at no point is the purchase document set to an inactive,a re-approval, or modified status, because the contents of the originalpurchase document cannot be changed until the contents of the changeorder form are accepted.

FIG. 4 illustrates a manage orders user interface 400 in accordance withone embodiment of the invention that allows a user to view the purchaseorder and initiate a change order form against the purchase order.Specifically, user interface 400 allows the user to search in section402 for a specific order (e.g., purchase order) that the user wants tomodify. For example, the search criteria includes procurement businessunit (“BU”), requisitioning BU, sold to BU, supplier, order, status,etc. User interface 400 displays, via display 24, search results insection 404 based on the search criteria provided by the user. Based onthe search result, user interface 400 provides the user an option toselect, for example, a particular row in section 406. By selecting aparticular row, user interface 400 allows the user to view the purchasedocument of the corresponding row.

FIG. 5 illustrates a view order user interface 500 in accordance withone embodiment of the invention that allows the user view the purchaseorder selected from user interface 400. For example, user interface 500displays the purchase order number in section 502, general informationabout the purchase order in section 504, terms of the purchase order insection 506, lines (line items) in section 508. For example, generalinformation in section 504 includes buyer name and information, sellername and information, delivery information, status, supply amount, totalcost (order cost plus tax cost). General information in section 504 alsoincludes terms of the purchase order in section 506. Lines in section508 includes the item being purchased, a description of the item,quantity of the item, price, cost of order, delivery location, deliverydate, payment date, attachment information, and additional details.

FIG. 6 illustrates a change order user interface 600 in accordance withone embodiment of the invention that allows a user to make proposedchanges. For example, user interface 600 includes a change order numberin section 602 and a description in section 604 of the change order.Description in section 604 describes what is being changed in the changeorder. User interface 600 may also include what party, for example,purchaser or supplier, initiates the changes in section 606. Userinterface 600 may also include a name in section 608 of the initiatingparty.

User interface 600 includes general information in section 612 that mayneed to be changed. For example, user interface 600, as illustrated inFIG. 6, may be modified to change contact information in section 614 ofthe supplier. User interface 600, as illustrated in FIG. 6, may also bemodified to change information pertaining to the purchaser (e.g.,buyer). For example, the buyer name can be changed from Ms. CatherineBrown to Ms. Pat Stock in section 616.

User interface 600 includes terms in section 618 that may need to bechanged. For example, payment terms, carrier, freight terms, etc., maybe changed. User interface 600 also allows lines (line items) in section620 to be modified. For example, user interface 600 allows an item to becancelled in section 612. User interface 600 also allows item number,description, quality, price, location, expected date, and promised date,etc., to be modified.

FIG. 7 illustrates a review change order user interface 700 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention to enable a user to viewall attributes that are being modified as part of a change order, aswell as their original and new values. User interface 700 permits a userto review all changes prior to submitting the changes for approval. Userinterface 700, as illustrated in FIG. 7, may list attribute(s) insection 702 that needs to be changed. For example, an attribute mayindicate that the buyer information is being change. User interface 700lists the original information and the new information in section 704 ofthe corresponding attribute that needs to be changed. For example, thechanged from indicates the buyer's original name. The changed toindicates the buyer's new name.

User interface 700 also indicates whether any attachments were added,deleted, or changed. In addition, user interface 700 indicates whetherany of the lines (line items) were added, changed, deleted or cancelled.For example, user interface 700 illustrated in FIG. 7 indicates in row708 that the description of the product is changed from “laptop battery”to “super laptop battery.” User interface 700 also indicates in row 710that “fix hard drive” was deleted and in row 712 that a “new mouse” wasadded.

FIG. 8 illustrates a manage agreements user interface 800 in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention that allows a user to search andview purchase agreements. Specifically, user interface 800 allows theuser to search in section 802 for specific agreements (e.g., purchaseagreements) that the user may want to modify. For example, the searchcriteria includes procurement business unit (“BU”), supplier, agreement,status, etc. User interface 800 displays, via display 24, search resultsin section 804 based on the search criteria provided by the user. Basedon the search result, user interface 800 provides the user an option toselect a particular row in section 806. By selecting a particular row,user interface 800 allows the user to view the purchase agreement of thecorresponding row.

FIG. 9 illustrates a purchase agreement user interface 900 in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention that allows the user to view thepurchase agreement selected from user interface of FIG. 8. For example,user interface 900 displays purchase agreement in section 902, generalinformation about the purchase agreement in section 904, terms of thepurchase agreement in section 906, lines in section 908. For example,general information in section 904 includes buyer name and information,supplier name and information, purchase agreement description, purchaseamount information. Terms in section 906 includes terms of the purchaseagreement and lines in section 908 includes items being purchase, adescription of the item, status, category name, supplier item, price,expiration date, released amount, etc. User interface 900 allows a userto modify the purchase agreement, create a purchase order based on theterms of the purchase agreement, etc.

As discussed, an embodiment is a document manager that creates a changeorder form when a party requests that the purchase document be modifiedand maintains the original purchase document as being active. The changeorder form allows the party to makes changes and submit the change orderform for approval. Upon approval of the change order form, the documentmanager incorporates the changes made in the change order form into theoriginal purchase document. As a result, the original purchase documentwill be not changed and will continue to be the primary purchasedocument for accounting purchases until all parties have agreed to thechanges.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics ofthe invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that theinvention may be practiced without one or more of the specific featuresor advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additionalfeatures and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments thatmay not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, causethe processor to manage purchase documents, the managing comprising:receiving a request to modify an approved first purchase document havingan active status; generating a second purchase document that is a changeorder object by importing, from a database, contents of the approvedfirst purchase document, the second purchase document inheriting data,attributes, and entities from the approved first purchase document;displaying the contents imported into the second purchase document in agraphical user interface, wherein at least a portion of the displayedcontents is editable by a user; receiving, using the graphical userinterface, modifications to the second purchase document, themodifications including a new value for at least one attribute;displaying the original value of the one attribute prior to themodification and the new value for the one attribute in the graphicaluser interface; transmitting, over a network, a request to approve themodified second purchase document to a supplier, wherein the approvedfirst purchase document has an active status and the second purchasedocument does not have an active status while the approval request ispending; receiving, over the network, an invoice from the supplier;while the approval request is pending, validating and tracking theinvoice received from the supplier using the approved first purchasedocument based on the status of the first purchase document being activeand the approval request being pending; receiving, over the network,approval of the modified second purchase document from the supplier;upon receiving the approval, implementing the approved modifications tothe second purchase document to generate an approved second purchasedocument by replacing corresponding contents of the first purchasedocument with the approved modifications to the second purchasedocument, or replacing the first purchase document with the modifiedsecond purchase document, wherein the approved second purchase documentis switched to active status and the approved first purchase document isswitched to inactive status, and one of the approved first purchasedocument or the approved second purchase document is active at a giventime such that an invoice that is received at a point in time isvalidated based on the active one of these purchase documents at thepoint in time.
 2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, furthercomprising validating a product received from a supplier using theapproved first purchase document.
 3. The computer readable medium ofclaim 1, further comprising tracking a shipment of a product using theapproved first purchase document.
 4. The computer readable medium ofclaim 1, wherein the modifications of the second purchase documentincludes modifications to at least one of: buyer information, supplierinformation, product information, or delivery date information.
 5. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the approved first purchasedocument is executed by a first entity and a second entity.
 6. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 5, wherein when the modifications ofthe second purchase document is by the first entity, approval of themodifications of the second purchase document is requested from anapproving entity of the first entity.
 7. The computer readable medium ofclaim 5, wherein when the modifications of the second purchase documentis by the first entity, acceptance of the modifications of the secondpurchase document is requested from the second entity.
 8. The computerreadable medium of claim 1, wherein the managing further comprises:displaying in the user interface a plurality of modifications to thecontents imported into the second purchase document.
 9. The computerreadable medium of claim 8, wherein the plurality of modifications aredisplayed as changes that show deletions to the contents imported andadditions of the modifications.
 10. The computer readable medium ofclaim 9, wherein the shown deletions are indicted by strikethroughs andthe shown additions are indicated by underlining.
 11. A computerimplemented method, comprising: receiving a request to modify anapproved first purchase document having an active status; generating asecond purchase document that is a change order object by importing,from a database, contents of the approved first purchase document, thesecond purchase document inheriting data, attributes, and entities fromthe approved first purchase document; displaying the contents importedinto the second purchase document in a graphical user interface, whereinat least a portion of the displayed contents is editable by a user;receiving, using the graphical user interface, modifications to thesecond purchase document, the modifications including a new value for atleast one attribute; displaying the original value of the one attributeprior to the modification and the new value for the one attribute in thegraphical user interface; transmitting, over a network, a request toapprove the modified second purchase document to a supplier, wherein theapproved first purchase document has an active status and the secondpurchase document does not have an active status while the approvalrequest is pending; receiving, over the network, an invoice from thesupplier; while the approval request is pending, validating and trackingthe invoice received from the supplier using the approved first purchasedocument based on the status of the first purchase document being activeand the approval request being pending; receiving, over the network,approval of the modified second purchase document from the supplier;upon receiving the approval, implementing the approved modifications tothe second purchase document to generate an approved second purchasedocument by replacing corresponding contents of the approved firstpurchase document with the approved modifications to the second purchasedocument, or replacing the approved first purchase document with theapproved second purchase document, wherein the approved second purchasedocument is switched to active status and the approved first purchasedocument is switched to inactive status, and one of the approved firstpurchase document or the approved second purchase document is active ata given time such that an invoice that is received at a point in time isvalidated based on the active one of these purchase documents at thepoint in time.
 12. The computer implemented method of claim 11, furthercomprising validating a product, or tracking shipment of a product,using the approved first purchase document.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the approved first purchase document is executed by a firstentity and a second entity, and, when the modifications of the secondpurchase document are received from the first entity, approval of themodifications of the second purchase document is requested from thesecond entity.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the modifications ofthe second purchase document includes modifications to at least one of:buyer information, supplier information, product information, ordelivery date information.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein theapproved first purchase document is executed by a first entity and asecond entity, and when the modifications of the second purchasedocument is by the first entity, approval of the modifications of thesecond purchase document is requested from an approving entity of thefirst entity.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the approved firstpurchase document can be executed by a first entity and a second entity,and when the modifications of the second purchase document is by thefirst entity, approval of the modifications of the second purchasedocument is requested from the second entity.
 17. The method of claim11, further comprising: displaying in the user interface a plurality ofmodifications to the contents imported into the second purchasedocument.
 18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein theplurality of modifications are displayed as changes that show deletionsto the contents imported and additions of the modifications.
 19. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the shown deletions areindicted by strikethroughs and the shown additions are indicated byunderlining.